by Xavier Onassis »
24 Jan 2008 19:00
Some context for this thread. In the Roy Keane era at Sunderland, prior to this window they had signed 21 players at a cost of 42 million (plus a few loans). In the same time period:
Birmingham - signed 12 for 21m
Wigan - signed 14 for 25+ m (some fees not declared)
Derby - signed 16 for 14+ m (some fees not declared)
Fulham - signed 16 for $25+ m
Bolton - signed 11 for an unknown amount
What do all these teams have in common (hint - look a the table.)
On the other hand:
Blackburn - signed 8 for $7.5 m (plus whatever Rigters cost - 500k, I think)
Reading - signed 6 for $6.5 m (plus Seol)
Blackburn's signings include first team regulars Santa Cruz, Warnock, Samba and Dunn.
I think the lesson is, don't measure the success of the signing season by quantity or cost of transfers. If players like Cisse, Matjovsky and Rosenior get established, our transfer policy has been a success.